H. Res. 5 Rules for the One Hundred Twelfth Congress

8/8/2019 H. Res. 5 Rules for the One Hundred Twelfth Congress

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H.Res. 5

Adopting Rules for the One Hundred Twelfth Congress

January 05, 2011

FLOOR SITUATION

On January 5, 2011, the 112th Congress is scheduled to begin with a quorum call and the election of the

Speaker. Following the quorum call and the election of the Speaker, the House will consider a privilegedresolution adopting House Rules for the 112th Congress. Since the rules have yet to be adopted, theHouse operates under general parliamentary law, and precedent generally dictates that the Houseoperates under the rules of the preceding Congress until the new rules are approved. The resolution isthus considered under the one-hour rule in the House (and not in the Committee of the Whole), and theLeadership is recognized for one hour, of which 30 minutes is customarily yielded to the Minority. TheHouse is then expected to proceed with a vote on H.Res. 5.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

H.Res. 5 would adopt the Rules of 111th Congress, except as amended by H.Res. 5, as the Rules for the112

thCongress. The following is a summary of the specific amendments and changes to the Rules of the

111th

Congress made by H.Res. 5.

Citing Authority Under the Constitution: The Rules for the 112th

Congress would require that no billor joint resolution may be introduced in the 112 th Congress without being accompanied by a statementciting as specifically as practicable the power or powers under the Constitution authorizing the enactmentof that bill. The statement must be submitted by the sponsor of the bill and would appear in a separatesection in the Congressional Record and be made available to the public in electronic form.

Three-Day Availability for Unreported Bills: The Rules would a point of order against a bill from

being considered in the House if it had not been available to Members for three calendar days.

Transparency for House and Committee Operations: The Rules would require the Committee onHouse Administration to establish a standard for making all House documents publicly available inelectronic form. The rules would also require a minimum notice period of three days for a committeemeeting. The text of any measure being marked up by a committee would be required to be madeavailable at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

In addition, the Rules would require each committee to make the results of any recorded votes publiclyavailable within 48 hours of a vote. Any adopted amendment would need to be made available within 24


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hours of adoption. The Rules would also require that witness truth in testimony information be madepublicly available and that committee rules are also made available electronically. The Rules wouldrequire committees to make audio and video coverage of each meeting available to the maximum extentpracticable.

Initiatives to Reduce Spending and Improve Accountability:

Cut-Go: The Rules would replace the current pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement with a new cut-as-you-go requirement. Under the new rule, any legislation that would increase mandatory spendingover one, five, or ten years would have to cut spending by an equal or greater amount elsewhere. Taxincreases could not be used to pay for new mandatory spending. The provision would apply to all billsdealing with mandatory spending and the Rules include a mechanism to address emergency

designations.

Ending the Gephardt Rule: The Rules would strike the so-called Gephardt rule, which allows a jointresolution with a debt limit increase contained in the budget resolution to be automatically engrossed anddeemed to have passed the House by the same vote as the conference report on the budget resolution,thus avoiding a separate vote on the debt-limit legislation.

Clarifying the Role of the Budget Committee Chairman: The Rules would clarify that the Chairman ofthe Budget Committee is authorized to provide guidance to the presiding officer on the budgetary impactof legislative proposals (as opposed to the entire Budget Committee providing guidance).

Highway Funding: The Rules would remove restrictions pertaining to funding amendments totransportation general appropriations bills.

Limitation on Increases in Direct Spending in Reconciliation Initiatives: The Rules would prohibitconsideration of a concurrent budget resolution containing reconciliation directives if it would cause anincrease to net direct spending in the period covered by the budget resolution.

Other Changes to House Operations:

Two Minute Voting: The Rules would authorize the Chair to reduce the time of recorded votes to twominutes.

Use of Electronic Devices: The Rules would expand current restrictions against mobile phones andpersonal computers to prohibit any electronic device that impairs decorum.

Updating Rules Governing the Media: The Rules would eliminate references to specific mediaorganizations and simply state that, The Speaker may admit to the floor, under such regulations as theSpeaker may prescribe, not more than one representative of each press association.

Voting in the Committee of the Whole: The Rules would eliminate the ability of delegates and theResident Commissioner to vote in, and preside over, the Committee of the Whole House on the state ofthe Union.

Motions to Strike: The Rules would remove a provision of current rules which allows a motion to strikea provision from a bill that is asserted to be an unfunded mandate, even if the amendment would nototherwise be in order during consideration of the bill.


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Committee Name Changes: The Rules would change the names of three committees as follows: theCommittee on Education and Labor to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Committeeon Standards of Official Conduct to the Committee on Ethics, and the Committee on Science andTechnology to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. In addition, the Rules wouldeliminate the Select Oversight Panel of the Committee on Appropriations.

Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: The Rules would reduce the size of the Permanent Select

Committee on Intelligence from 22 to 20 (total) Members and 13 to 12 (majority) Members.

Term Limits for Committee Chairs: The Rules would limit the terms of committee or subcommitteechairs (except the Rules Committee) to no more than three consecutive Congresses.

Committee Activity Reports: The Rules would increase the frequency of required committee activityreports from once per year to four times per year.

Staff Deposition Authority: The Rules would modify the authority of Oversight Committee staff byrequiring that a member will have to be present when staff is deposing a witness.

Separate Orders:

Budget Matters: The Rules would clarify that a point of order prohibiting consideration of legislationwithin the Budget Committees jurisdiction unless reported by the Budget Committee would only applyto bills and joint resolutions, and not to simple or concurrent resolutions. The Rules also clarify that apoint of order requiring adoption of a budget resolution before consideration of budget-related legislationis applicable to text made in order as an original bill by a special rule. In addition, the Rules wouldcreate a point of order against rising from the Committee of the Whole to report a bill to the House thatexceeds budget authority under 302 (b) Appropriations subcommittee allocations.

Budget Enforcement: The Rules would require the Chairman of the Budget Committee to submit budget

aggregates and allocations for fiscal year 2011, and the period of fiscal years 2011 through 2015, forprinting in the Congressional Record. The aggregates and allocations printed in the CongressionalRecord would be considered to be the adoption of a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year2011.

Emergencies and Contingencies: The Rules would exempt bills and joints resolutions designated asemergency or bills that make appropriations for contingency operations related to the global war on

terror from being counted against budget aggregates and allocations.

Deficit-Neutral Revenue Reserve: The Rules would authorize the Budget Committee to makeadjustments to allocations and revenue levels to reflect changes resulting from a repeal of the job-killinggovernment health care takeover.

Limitation on Advanced Appropriations: The Rules would place a ceiling of $28.8 billion on aggregateadvanced appropriations for FY 2012 and FY 2013. The Rules would provide an except for theDepartment of Veterans Affairs for the Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, and MedicalFacilities accounts of the Veterans Health Administration.

Limitation on Long-term Spending: The Rules would prohibit the consideration of any measure whichincreases mandatory spending above $5 billion for any 10 year window within a 40 year period.


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Exemptions: The Rules would authorize the Budget Committee Chairman, prior to the adoption of abudget resolution, to exempt from estimates the budgetary effects of the 2001 and 2003 tax reliefpackages. It also exempts the budgetary effects of the repeal of the government takeover of health care.The budgetary effects of AMT relief, estate tax, trade agreements and small business tax relief are alsoexempted.

Spending Reduction Amendments in Appropriations Bills: The Rules would require that each

appropriations bill contain a spending reduction account. The account would contain the total amountof spending removed from the bill through the amendment process. Amendments to cut certain accountsor lower funding levels in appropriations bills would be counted towards spending reduction. The Ruleswould also require that other amendments that propose to increase spending in accounts in a generalappropriations bill must include an offset of equal or greater value.

Certain Subcommittees: The Rules would stipulate that the Committee on Armed Services and theCommittee on Foreign Affairs may not have more than seven subcommittees each and that theCommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure may not have more than six.

Exercise Facilities for Former Members: The Rules would continue a prohibition against former

Members of Congress who are now registered lobbyists from using the Member exercise facilities.

Numbering of Bills: The Rules would reserve bill numbers H.R. 1 through H.R. 10 for the Speaker andbill numbers H.R. 11 through H.R. 20 for the Minority Leader.

Committees, Commissions, and House Offices: The Rules would reauthorize the House DemocracyPartnership and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and the Office of Congressional Ethics.The Rules would also continue to direct the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to empanelinvestigative subcommittees within 30 days after the date on which a Member is indicted.

Additional Orders of Business: The Rules would allow the Speaker to recognize Members for thereading of the Constitution on the legislative day of January 6, 2011. Finally, the Rules would allow theSpeaker to entertain motions to suspend the rules related to reducing the costs of operation of the House.

BACKGROUND

Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that each House may determine the Rules ofits Proceedings. The House of Representatives is not a continuing body; it has to reconstitute itself atthe beginning of each new Congress. Accordingly, at the start of every new Congress, the House adoptsnew rules, normally the standing rules of the preceding Congress with various changes. (As a continuingbody with only a third of its Members elected every two years, the Senate does not pass new rules each

new Congress.)

COST

A CBO cost estimate for H. Res. 5 is not available.

Documents

H. Res. 5 Rules for the One Hundred Twelfth Congress